A Sign of Trouble
by Actrez
Summary: Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny will soon be called to fight in a war they always knew was coming. But first they must deal with the consequences of the first battle.


A Sign of Trouble

Disclaimer: These characters belong to JK Rowling, I'm merely borrowing them for my own amusement.

A/N: Very special thank you to my beta Anna, and to my sister Nicole11 for listening to all my crazy ideas. And extra special thanks to TheGiantSquid for her fabulous researching ability and beta skills.

Chapter 1

The door slammed shut behind the three of them, leaving them in a cloak of darkness. "Ron?" Ginny lifted her hand in front of her face; feeling oddly detached from her own body, and moved it towards her until it bumped her nose, proving to herself that she was still in one piece.

"I'm right here," her brother said from somewhere to her left. She turned and reached her hand out in that direction until it connected with something solid. She felt a large hand wrap around her wrist and squeeze it reassuringly. "Where are the others?"

She shrugged before realizing there was no possible way he could have seen the action. "Harry? Hermione?"

A soft gasp came from her right and she whirled around, still clinging to her brother. She blinked a few times and found she could just barely see the outline of Luna standing beside her. The girl's blonde hair seemed to be reflecting off a dim light from in front of them. She turned her head in search of the source. A few meters in front of them, floating in midair, was a small scale diagram of the solar system. The planets shimmered in the darkness and Ginny gasped in awe; she had never seen anything like it before.

"They forgot one," Luna commented in her usual dreamy tone. Ginny glanced over at her in confusion, but decided it would be best to ignore the comment. They had more important things to deal with at the moment.

They all heard the footsteps at the same time. "We have to get out of here," said Ron, who started pulling her forward as the noise drew closer.

"We don't know where we're going," she argued, digging her heels into the floor. She wasn't too sure it was a good idea to go any further into the room.

Ron turned around and pulled harder, causing her to stumble forward. "Neither do they," he told her, grabbing Luna, who was still watching the planets critically. "If we just go straight we should find another door on the other side."

Ginny stared into the darkness, broken up by shimmering planets and pinpricks of stars; she wasn't quite sure there _was_ another side. From where she was it seemed the room just went on forever. But the Death Eaters were nearly there and anything was better than just standing around waiting for them.

The three of them broke out into a run and Ginny forced herself not to look back when she heard the door slam open. "_Lumos!_" one of the Death Eaters cried as the door shut again. Why hadn't they thought of that?

"This way," Ron urged as she slowed to look back. Would the Death Eaters be able to see them? She gripped her wand tightly and forced herself to keep up with her brother.

"We hear you moving, little ones," Ginny heard one of them sneer. Ron veered to the right and grabbed her arm, pulling her with him and then slowing down considerably. The first of the planets was now floating directly in front of them. She glanced over at Luna and was surprised to see that for once the girl actually appeared to be fully lucid, and was gripping her wand with determination.

"_Stupefy!"_ A bolt of red shot across the other side of the room and Ginny felt herself relax slightly; the Death Eaters didn't seem to know where they were. But how long would that last?

"You can't run forever," a voice snickered, and Ginny couldn't help but think that the voice was much closer than she would have liked it to be.

"_Crucio!"_ She barely registered the prickling of magic in the air around her before Ron flung himself toward her. She let out a cry of surprise as she stumbled under his weight and they both fell to the floor.

"_Expelliarmus!"_ Luna cried from above them as Ron moved to stand.

There was a cry of outrage and the shout of another curse Ginny didn't recognize before a jet of electric blue slammed into Ron's chest. "Ron!" she cried as her brother collapsed. She raised her wand in the general direction the curse had come from and yelled, _"Stupefy!"_

Ginny scrambled into a standing position and raised her wand again as a fit of giggles erupted from beside her. She turned her head to find her brother sitting with a glazed expression, "Ginny, look!" he cried looking off towards one of the planets. "Uranus!"

The simple word caused another bout of giggles. "We have to go," Luna said, pulling on Ron's arm. Ginny wasn't sure what was more shocking, Ron's behaviour, or Luna's.

Ginny turned quickly and shouted, _"Petrificus Totalus!"_ She watched in satisfaction as the hex hit its intended target. She turned back and saw that Luna looked as lost as she felt. "Let's go this way," she said, signaling toward the planets. Luna nodded as she forced a giggling Ron up and Ginny grabbed his other arm.

They both let out cries of surprise when their feet didn't touch solid ground on their next steps. Ginny's body felt strangely weightless, and her eyes widened in shock when she looked down at her feet and saw the floor below them that they had been standing on only moment before had disappeared. She tightened her hold on her brother and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Luna do the same. Jets of red light shot toward them, narrowly missing, and Ron's giggles increased.

"Quiet, Ron," Ginny snapped.

His giggles slowly stopped as he stared at one of the nearby planets in awe, and they were left floating in silence as they listened to the yells of the Death Eaters below. There was a sudden cry of surprise before a voice yelled from nearby, "Up here!"

She looked over at Luna, who was kicking her legs wildly, as though she were swimming; Ginny quickly followed suit. It wasn't nearly as easy as swimming in the pond at home, but it did seem to propel them forward somewhat, even with Ron's dead weight between them. She ground her teeth in frustration as her brother's giggles started up again.

"Ginny! Uranus!"

"This way," Luna said, pulling on Ron's arm and directing them toward what Ginny felt quite certain was Pluto, despite her lack of knowledge in Astronomy. A spell suddenly shot by Luna, narrowly missing her head. She turned just enough to aim her wand and send a Stunning Spell over her shoulder before kicking her legs harder.

As they reached Pluto, Ginny was just able to make out the outline of what she thought might be the wall. She kicked her tired legs harder at the hope of an exit. They'd be out of there soon and back on solid ground. She didn't allow herself to think about what might possibly lie beyond that door. All that mattered at the moment was getting out of that room.

Ginny cried out in shock as she felt a large hand close around her ankle. She kicked desperately, trying to twist out of the Death Eater's grip. There was a sickening crack and pain shot through her ankle, causing her eyes to water.

"_Reducto!_" Luna aimed her wand at the small planet they had floated to the other side of and the explosion was enough to cause the Death Eater to lose his grip on her leg. "Just a little bit further," the other girl urged when Ginny gasped in pain as she forced her legs to keep kicking.

"They're getting away!" one of the Death Eaters cried as they reached the door. Luna jerked it open with her free hand. Ginny had never been so glad to feel solid ground.

* * *

"Harry—what—?" Ginny watched in shock as Harry continued chasing after Bellatrix. Was he completely mental? "HARRY!" Her shouting did no good and she growled in frustration. "Luna," she called to the girl who was looking around the room in shock. "Help me with Hermione." She hissed in pain as she forced herself into a standing position; she didn't think they should be sitting around marinating in the potion the brains had been in.

Luna grabbed her arm to help her up. "You can hardly stand—I'll get Hermione."

Ron drew their attention before Ginny could argue. "Hermione!" He had grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up so that her head rolled backwards. "Hermione, wake up, you have to see these!"

"Ron—" He let Hermione fall back and Ginny winced as her head smacked against the floor.

"Ginny, did you see these?" He giggled as he came toward her, pointing toward the brains scattered across the floor, though Ginny noticed he seemed to be making sure he kept a safe distance from them. "They're _weird_," he stopped to look at one then glanced back at Hermione. "Ginny, why won't Hermione wake up?"

She paused; what was she supposed to say? She didn't think he'd understand in his current state and if he did, she wasn't sure how he'd react; she could hardly imagine how he'd respond in his normal state.

"What happened to his arms?" Luna whispered beside her.

Ginny shook her head. Now was not the time; they needed to get out of that room. How long would it be before the Death Eaters came back? And with Harry gone, it would just be Luna and herself. A knot of dread began to form in her stomach as she thought of what could have happened to Neville. "We need to get out of here," she announced; somebody had to take action. She could worry about Neville and Harry later. "Get Hermione. Ron, come here."

"Hermione—"

"Luna's getting her," she told him quickly. The sound of footsteps caught her attention and she looked over at Luna, who was holding one of Hermione's limp arms around her shoulders. Her other arm was wrapped around Hermione's waist as she struggled to pull her across the room. Luna met her gaze—she had heard the footsteps, too.

"Ron, come on." Her voice was slightly frantic, but her brother didn't seem to notice.

"Did you see the brains, Ginny?" he asked, giggling.

"Yes, now come on, I need your help." _Of all the times for him to go nutty, _she thought in annoyance, then instantly feeling guilty. It wasn't his fault.

"Dey're in here, Professor," she heard Neville say as the footsteps got closer. Relief flooded through her.

"Professor Lupin!" she cried in relief when the two of them appeared in the doorway. Lupin looked older than she had ever seen him and he gave her a very forced smile before looking around the room.

"What happened?"

"Bellatrix Lestrange knocked over the tank of brains," Ginny told him. She did her best to move forward. "Harry went after her—"

"He'll be alright, Dumbledore is with him," Lupin assured her as Neville crossed to her and to help her walk.

"Ron got hit with something and Hermione—"

"Neville's told me," Lupin said as he grabbed Hermione from Luna. "We'll have to wait for Professor Dumbledore to get back before we can Portkey out of here. I'd fix your ankle but Madam Pomfrey is much better at mending bones than I am." He led them into another room and laid Hermione on the floor before performing cleansing charms on all of them.

"What's happening? They didn't get the prophecy, did they?"

"No," Neville told her as he helped her sit. "Id broke and we couldn'd hear id."

"Who else is here? Did Harry tell you the vision he had about Sirius?"

Lupin flinched before he busied himself with checking over Luna, saying, "Professor Dumbledore will explain everything later."

"Sirius Black was here," Neville told her quietly.

Ginny turned to look at him and she thought her heart might have stopped for a moment; that couldn't be right. It had been a trap, Sirius wasn't actually here—wait, _was? _"What do you mean _was_?" Neville looked down sadly and she felt her heart speed up. "Professor?"

Lupin looked over at her; she had never seen him look so _old_. "Not now, Ginny."

She gasped; something had happened to Sirius; they had come here to help him and now he was hurt or—Ginny shook her head against the tears that were pricking her eyes and turned her attention to her brother, who was giggling as he watched the bird she had been fascinated with earlier. "Professor, Ron needs a Healer; he touched one of those brains and I don't know what the Death Eaters used on him but—"

"Madam Pomfrey will have something for his arms," he told her as he turned his attention to Ron. "The hex they used on him is very rare, but I know the counter curse to it."

"It's funny isn't it," Luna commented as she watched a case of time turners shatter and fall before repairing themselves and beginning again. "How some things just happen no matter what."

Ginny chose not to think too hard about that comment as she watched Lupin perform the counter curse on her brother. The giggling instantly stopped and he stood there for a moment before he appeared to be fully lucid. She held her breath as he glanced around the room; it was only a matter of time before he saw Hermione. The moment he did, Ginny saw his entire body stiffen before he pushed past Lupin and crossed over to her. He kneeled down, staring at her in shock as his hands hovered over her still form as if he was afraid to actually touch her.

The others were watching him in surprise; they hadn't expected he'd have this kind of reaction. Ginny pulled herself forward, ignoring the pain that shot through her ankle at the jostling. A lump formed in her throat when she saw the tears shining in her brother's eyes. She hadn't seen him cry since they were little. The others had shaken themselves from their stupor and Neville was telling Ron what had happened, but it was obvious he wasn't hearing him. She reached over and grabbed his hand in order to get his attention. "She's just unconscious, Ron. She's going to be okay."

It took a few moments before he nodded in understanding. "What happened?" he rasped as he reached out with his other hand to grab Hermione's wrist, assuring himself that she really was still alive.

"She god hid wid a curse, bud I don't know whad one," Neville's speech seemed to fully pull Ron back to reality as he glanced over at him, and then glanced around the rest of the room.

"Are you alright?" he asked them all, his eyes finally landing on Ginny's swollen ankle. They all nodded and she squeezed his hand reassuringly when he shot her a concerned look. "Where's Harry?"

"Harry will be fine," a soft voice assured them from the doorway and they all turned to see Professor Dumbledore entering the room. "He's waiting for me in my office," he told them as he pulled something from his robes that looked like a piece of a statue. "Remus, if you wouldn't mind taking them back," he said before creating the Portkey. He looked at the five students, his gaze lingering on Ron and Hermione a moment longer than the rest. "I'm sure Madam Pomfrey will have just what they need."

"Of course," Lupin answered as he moved to help Ginny up. He went to grab Hermione but Ron beat him to it, quickly scooping his friend up and cradling her against his chest.

Ginny watched the action around her. What about Sirius? Lupin had said Dumbledore would explain everything but he wasn't going back with them. "Professor Dumbledore, what's happened? Neville said Sirius was—"

Dumbledore met her gaze. "Once I speak with Harry I will come down to the hospital wing. For now, you five need medical attention and Harry needs answers."

Ginny was just about to ask what sort of answers Harry needed when Professor Lupin took the Portkey from Dumbledore and instructed them all to touch it. Dumbledore disappeared from the doorway just as she felt the familiar tug behind her navel.


End file.
